


Work in Progress

by Goddess47



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: M/M, various sg-a and sg-1 folk at a whim
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-31
Updated: 2015-06-13
Packaged: 2017-12-25 04:09:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/948460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goddess47/pseuds/Goddess47
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John, Rodney and a work in progress. Like life....</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Entries 1-5

**Author's Note:**

> I'm writing a (really) short entry of this fic every day-ish to post daily on my Live Journal to give my peeps something to read more or less daily.... part of a "keep LJ alive" meme-ish... this is a couple days worth of posts put together in one piece... There will be a daily entry on LJ if you care or a weekly-ish entry here.... until it's done. Or not... ;-)
> 
> Not beta'd, a true work in progress!

"What are you doing?" Rodney asked.

John looked up from his desk to the man standing in his door. "What's up?" John asked, surprised. It usually his job to chase after Rodney and roust Rodney out of the labs. Not the other way around.

Rodney shifted in place, projecting uncertainty. "Just thought... maybe..." he stuttered.

John put down the report he was reading and really _looked_ at Rodney. "What's wrong?"

"Can I sit?" Rodney asked, faintly.

"Yeah, sure," John said, pushing his kinda wobbly 'guest' chair in Rodney's direction. It was wobbly on purpose; it was to keep anyone from getting too comfortable and staying too long. Lorne stood a lot when visiting with John.

Rodney sat gingerly.

2~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You could get a better chair," Rodney complained, trying to get comfortable without (a) falling off the chair or (b) breaking the chair completely.

"You don't even have a chair in your office," John pointed out mildly. "So, what do you need?"

Rodney -- carefully -- fidgeted for a moment before taking a deep breath. "Okay, this is hard because I know we're friends and you're the military commander and all but there are things I can't tell you," Rodney said in one breath.

"And?" John drawled.

"You aren't mad?" Rodney peered at John in surprise.

John shrugged. "There are military things I don't tell you," John said.

Rodney's eyes got shifty for a moment before he got his face under control. John had figured that Rodney had his fingers in the military part of the computer system. There really wasn't anything that Rodney shouldn't see, but he had to play the game.

"Yeah, but they aren't important," Rodney waved it off.

"And you can't tell me something that's important?" John asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Ummm... yes?" Rodney said, ears turning red.

3~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

John was intrigued, mostly because he knew the last delivery from the Daedalus had some deliveries for all of them that came... outside normal channels. The every three days dial-in between Earth and the revised gate bridge kept them in touch and reasonably well supplied. But the Daedalus brought people back and forth as well as bigger -- and sometimes irregular -- things.

John had gotten a printed letter from General O'Neill, which wasn't terribly unusual since Atlantis -- and the SGC -- now fell outside the direct military chain of command and reported to Homeworld Security. The IOA had finally imploded when the Chinese had made an attempt to take over and the Brits, Canadians and -- interestingly, enough -- the Russians got tired of the machinations and threw the entire project to the mercy of the Americans. The IOA still got to play, but in a seriously diminished capacity.

But O'Neill was usually an email guy and John knew he hated paperwork as much as John did. The letter itself was classic O'Neill -- faintly mystifying but reassuring in a back handed compliment sort of way that John had finally gotten used to. It had essentially said, _you're doing a good job, keep it up_. And it wasn't even John's personnel review time. That was at least another couple of months away.

John knew it was all make sense at some point. He wondered if there was any connection to Rodney's mysterious project.

4~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Okay," John said.

Rodney started in surprise, the chair creaked alarmingly. "Just okay?" he stuttered.

"I trust you," John admitted. "When I need to know more, you'll tell me."

Rodney looked especially pleased at the compliment and John reminded himself he needed to say things like that out loud once in a while. His reluctance to say too much led him to not saying enough to Rodney.

"Thanks!" Rodney replied with a grin.

"What do you need me for?" John asked.

Rodney hesitated, as if gathering his courage, and said, "I need to... work out more." He looked down at his waistline and admitted. "I've put on a couple of pounds since we've been back and not running for my life." He gave a small grin. "Not that I mind that much. Not running for my life, that is. But I'd like to... tone up some."

John sat back, surprised. He would not have thought Rodney would have body image issues like that. John's next through was that Rodney had his eye on one of the new folk on Atlantis and wanted to make a better impression. He tried not to think too hard about why that idea distressed him so much.

5~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

John tamped down the feeling and put on a smile. "Sure, we can do that," he said. "What do you think you need to do?"

"I'm not good at this and was hoping you'd... spend time working out with me," Rodney asked, somewhat hesitantly.

John was surprised at the hesitation. "That won't be a problem," he reassured Rodney. "I've been looking for a reason to dump more things on Teldy and Cadman. Working out with you is as good as any."

Rodney's smile was brilliant. John's heart stuttered, just a little.

"What kind of a timeline you looking at?" John asked.

"I have this... thing on Earth in about nine weeks," Rodney said. "That I can't tell anyone about. Yet. But I'd like to look... nicer."

Not a person, then, which made John feel immediately better. Probably showing off for other scientists at some top secret conference. That was something John could get enthusiastic about.

"You know you can't work miracles in nine weeks," John pointed out. 

Rodney grimaced. "Yeah, I know. But if I can lose like ten pounds and not wheeze like an asthmatic as I climb stairs, I'll be happy with that," he admitted.


	2. Parts 6 -12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This week's postings! Thanks to everyone reading along!

"I doubt it's that bad. Ten pounds in that time should be easily do-able," John agreed. "And we'll do some jogging... to up your stamina. How's that sound?"

Rodney grinned, "As long as you're not taking me running with Ronon, that'll be perfect. I love all the lab work I'm getting done but it's not the same as being out on missions." He laughed. "And even I never thought I'd be saying that."

John grinned back. "No running with Ronon, promise," he said. "Although I think Teyla could help us with some flexibility."

Rodney groaned but admitted, "Yeah, probably a good idea."

"Let's start with lunch," John proposed.

"Gotta start somewhere," Rodney agreed. "I know the theory of all this and, heck, I've been on diets. I just need some help to stick to it for any length of time."

"I can do that, buddy," John stood.

Rodney wobbled as he stood up from the creaky chair. John put his hand under Rodney's elbow to steady him.

"That chair's dangerous!" Rodney complained, not immediately moving from John's touch.

"No one ever sits in it," John said. "At least not more than once!"

7~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Next time, I'll stand," Rodney agreed as he moved away from John. "What are you going to pawn off on Teldy and Cadman?"

Before the city went back to Pegasus, every one of the Lantean military were given a raise in rank. O'Neill had told them it was for _now having to put up with me_ with a small smirk, but it also had been in legitimate recognition for their efforts in saving Earth -- yet again. John was now a 'full bird' Colonel, Lorne a Lieutenant Colonel and they had additional contingents of both Marines and Air Force personnel assigned to Atlantis. Which meant the need for more delegating on John's part.

Although Rodney had a similar 'problem', John knew. Having more people to do the lab work meant that Rodney spent more time than he liked doing administrative work, although he had cleverly pawned that off on Kavanaugh, who had applied to come back to Atlantis to everyone's surprise. Doing paperwork and making sure everyone else did the paperwork suited Kavanaugh's personality perfectly, and John suspected Rodney owed Radek his soul -- or at least a lifetime worth of favors -- for making Radek his official deputy _and_ having Kavanagh report to Radek.

"SInce Lorne's in charge of the Gate teams," John explained, "I thought I'd put Cadman in charge of the city security and make Teldy the number two for organizing the teams. Matias will float between the two groups for now and I've told Lorne to feel out the newbies to see who might be a candidate for working with them. That way, there's an officer on deck at all times who can make decisions about gate travel."

"Like you're not going to be there regularly," Rodney scoffed.

John just shrugged. He knew is was almost superstitious of him, but he _wanted_ to be there when the teams left and came back. Elizabeth had done it for them and, Richard Woolsey's retirement, the new guy - Roger Davies, a Brit -- was still feeling his way around the city. He also wasn't military and John was looking for a good meet-and-greet for him to go on. So he hadn't been off of Atlantis yet, either.

"There will be times I can't be there," John admitted. "Need someone who understands."

8~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

They entered the mess hall and John held Rodney back for a moment.

"If we do this right, you may be slightly hungry at times but not starving," John said. "When you're really hungry, you should just eat, but if we try the 'lots of little meals' approach, that will be closest to your normal eating habits anyway."

"I do kind of graze," Rodney admitted.

"With your hypoglycemia, that's actually a good thing, as you've probably been told," John agreed. Not that he would admit to keeping an eye on Rodney's eating habits. "You just need to stop and think about _what_ you're eating."

"Yeah, it's all easy at first and then there's an emergency and I've fallen off the diet and before I know it, I've put all the weight back on," Rodney said.

"Well, with the two of us working on it, maybe you won't forget," John offered. "He thought for a second. "And I might have an idea that might help. I'll tell you that later."

"That's what I was hoping for," Rodney admitted. "As long as it's not too much work."

"I'll put a moratorium on emergencies, if that will help," John grinned.

" _That_ would help even more!" Rodney laughed. "Let me know how that works out for you."

Lunch was 'Pegasus goulash' and Rodney took a smaller portion than normal, filling his plate with vegetables and salad. John took extra fruit instead of desserts.

"Good start," John said. "Although the other thing you can do is drink more water during the day. And maybe a tad less coffee." He grinned at Rodney's look of horror. 'Yeah, I know. Just add a couple glasses of water here and there and you'll find you want less coffee."

"Oh, sure, make this no fun at all," Rodney groused but good naturedly. "Yeah, that's a good idea. The water, not the less coffee."

9~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When they were done, John handed Rodney the two pieces fruit. "Now, not at the same time, but eat these when you would normally reach for a power bar in the afternoon," John siad firmly. "And a glass of water at the same time."

John knew it was fruit Rodney liked, something like peaches in being sweet and juicy, but firmer and a bit more fibrous, which helped make it more filling. Two should get Rodney through the afternoon.

"Like I said," Rodney repeated. "The first couple of days will be easy. Then I get cranky."

"I'll keep you busy," John promised. "You won't have time to get cranky." Spending more time with Rodney was just a bonus.

"I suppose I'll have to put up with you," Rodney grinned.

"What's a better time for you to go jogging?" John asked. "Mornings or evening?"

"Mornings, I guess," Rodney offered. "Not the ungodly hour you and Ronon go running, of course."

"Of course," John repeated dryly.

"John!" Rodney whined.

Relenting, John snicker. "No, not that early," John agreed.

Rodney shot a relieved look at John.

"I'll talk to Teyla about some sessions," John offered. "We can alternate jogging and working out with Teyla. How does that sound?"

"Sounds good," Rodney agreed.

10*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

John spent the afternoon working with his senior staff -- and that he had senior staff still felt odd -- to put the plans he had outlined to Rodney into motion. Teldy had some suggestions about who they could move into backing up Cadman on the city security detail. Cadman took notes and made some of her own suggestions about who needed some training to move up into positions with more responsibility.

John thought Lorne looked a bit relieved that John was taking the concept of delegation seriously -- without having to resort to some nefarious plot to take things away from him when he wasn't looking. To some extent, this project with Rodney helped John do something he needed to do anyway.

"Laura and I will interview Prutsman, Yi, and Kloch," Lorne offered, "and make our recommendation to you. Do you want to talk to them?"

"Nah," John waved him off. "I trust your judgment and, honestly, you have to live with it." He grinned.

Lorne grinned back, a bit ruefully. "Fair enough," he said.

"Anything else?" John asked, looking around at his staff.

"I don't think so," Lorne said.

"Drop in any time," John said.

After the meeting broke up, John went off to look through their store rooms to find something he thought might help Rodney out. It took him a couple of hours to search through the supplies they had to find exactly what he wanted. He made a mental note to have someone do a complete inventory so they knew what they had on hand. In fact, they simply needed someone in charge of supplies in general. He'd see if Lorne had a suggestion.

11~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

One of the best things about having O'Neill in charge -- and a functional, secure gate bridge back to Earth -- was that O'Neill understood how really _long_ the supply line was. He made sure there were regular deliveries of everything he could think of, as well as things they never thought they'd need. What didn't come through the gate bridge, came on the Daedalus.

He pocketed his prizes, making a note of where he found them.

His next stop was Teyla.

"I need some special work outs with Rodney," John told her. "Flexibility more than stick fighting."

"What is the... goal of the workout?" Teyla asked.

"Rodney wants to lose some weight for some special event he has to go to back on Earth," John replied. "I thought some workouts with you, alternating with light jogging, would be a good combination. Something Rodney could handle, and would do him good."

"Rodney has an interest in improving his health?" Teyla asked, with a small grin.

"It's more, ummm, vanity, I guess," John said. "He want to show off for whatever it is he's doing. But maybe if we keep it simple enough, he'll keep on doing it after."

"He did not tell you what it was?" Teyla asked.

"Said he couldn't," John admitted.

"Ah!" Teyla gave a small grin.

"Hey! What do you know?" John asked suspiciously.

"I do not know what Rodney is preparing for," Teyla replied.

John looked at Teyla for a moment and she looked serenely back at him. Something niggled in the back of his head that she knew _something_ but he also knew she'd not tell him anything. She was good at keeping secrets.

"Fair enough," John said reluctantly.

12~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

It was late afternoon but not yet time for dinner so John decided he'd go to the labs to see if there was anything they needed him for. Enough of the scientists had the ATA gene, either natrually or the gene had been activated by the latest form of Carson's treatment, that he wasn't as needed as much as he had been in the past. On the other hand, there were times his _uber_ gene was useful.

There was the usual controlled chaos in the main lab. There was a group of four scientists gathered around a white board, debating the equations on the board. Radek Zelenka was demonstrating something to a small group of newbies.

"Ah! Colonel Sheppard," Radek grinned. "Perfect timing. Can you give us a hand?"

John was immediately wary. "Depends. What do you need?" he asked.

"I would like to demonstrate how your gene is stronger," Radek replied. "Just a simple demonstration."

"Okay, that I can do," John agreed. "What are you using to test that?"

Radek held out what John knew was a children's toy. John took the device and thought _on_ at it.

The device lit up like a Christmas tree, with whirling lights of various colors. It was bright enough that John had to squint his eyes to look at it.

"Now you see how bright the device has become in Colonel Sheppard's hands," Radek pointed out. "The Colonel's pure ATA gene and the strength of the gene is very rare. There are some with the artificial gene that are almost as strong, but the 'real' gene is always superior."

"Will we have access to the information there is about the gene?" a female voice asked.

"No," Rodney said flatly, coming up from behind John. "That information has been restricted and if you want to see it, you have to justify it. And I'm hard to convince."

"May I ask why?" the same woman asked.

"There are real people involved," Rodney said. "People who have a job, who are not an _experiment_. You need to make sure to remember that."

"I will," she said.

"Anything else?" John asked, thinking _off_ at the toy.

"No, thank you, Colonel," Radek took the toy from him.


	3. Sections 13 - 16

Radek herded the 'baby scientists' off and John turned to Rodney. "Hey!"

"If you need something to do..." Rodney trailed off.

John shrugged. "Too late in the afternoon to start anything new, so I figured I come down and see if you could use any help," he explained. "Just spotted Radek first, is all."

Rodney seemed slightly mollified at the explanation. "I do have a stack of things you can play with, if you want," he offered. "Things that don't feel right or don't work at all."

"Sure," John said.

"I keep those locked up," Rodney replied. "This way." He led the way out of the main lab and went down the corridor. "Here."

 _Keep Out! This means YOU! --MRM PhD PhD_ It was hand written on the back of...

"Is that Christmas wrapping paper?" John asked in amusement.

"It was what was available," Rodney grinned back. "It works."

Rodney opened the door and the lights came on as they walked in.

John looked around the windowless room. There was shelving of sorts around the walls and a flat surface in the middle.

"Did you do this?" John asked, waving a hand.

"Nah, came this way," Rodney said. "It's in the database as a storage closet, which makes sense, this close to the labs."

"I guess it does," John agreed. "So, what you got?"

Rodney pulled a box off a shelf. "These seem to be dead, let's see if they really are," he said. He handed John an odd looking device, all angles with pipes coming out of it.

John took it and carefully thought a soft _on_ at it. Nothing. "It feels like part of something, but other than that, nothing," he reported.

Rodney put it aside and reached into the box again. He handed John a smooth stainless steel cylinder about eight inches long and three inches in diameter. From the way Rodney handled it, it didn't seem to weigh that much. "Try this one," he said.

As John took it, it started to _buzz_. John quickly moved his hands over the device and found some depressions he put his fingers into. "Rodney, call Lorne and get a bomb disposal team down here," John said carefully. He considered for a moment. "Tell them to hurry."

 

14~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

John concentrated on _off off off_ as he heard Rodney calling for help in the background.

The door to the room opened and Cadman came in. "What do you need?" she asked. Her team was right in back of her.

"I think it's like a hand grenade," John reported. "I've essentially got my fingers on the pin, but I don't know how big a blast it will make or what kind of time delay it will have. I'm pretty sure there'll be a delay, just don't know how long."

"Is it stable for now?" she asked, eyeing the otherwise nondescript device.

"Pretty sure," John reported.

John ignored Rodney's faint protest of _Pretty sure?_

She turned to the team in back of her. "Someone give me a vest and a helmet," she directed. Some shuffling in the hall as someone took off their vest and handed it in to her.

"Dr. McKay, you should leave the room," Cadman ordered.

"But.." Rodney started to protest.

"I'll be okay, Rodney," John said softly. "Go. Please." John was grateful that Rodney left without further protest.

"Okay, hold still," Cadman ordered. She draped the vest over John's head, pushing it gently down his chest between his arms. She then placed the helmet on his head and eased goggles over his eyes.

"Now what?" she asked.

"Let's get to a pier and drop it over the side," John offered. "Someplace not too already damaged, I don't want to break anyplace that might be fragile."

"The West pier," Rodney's voice suggested from the corridor.

"Works for me," Cadman agreed. "Can we risk the transporter?"

"I think time is more important, so we need to risk it," John decided.

She turned to the hall and commanded, "Clear the way ahead of us!" She turned back to John, "Okay, we can go now."

John saw Rodney's worried look as they passed him on the way to the transporter. One of Cadman's team had the transporter door already open and got in with John and Cadman. He tapped their destination into the map and, when they arrived, exited ahead of them.

Fortunately, the transporter let them out relatively near the pier.

"How's it going?" Cadman asked.

"Okay so far," John said as they moved to a light jog. John didn't want to lose his grip and running with both hands full of the cylinder was awkward.

At the edge of the pier, Cadman said, "Okay, let's get a grip on you, so you don't fall in with that thing." She grabbed John's belt at his lower back and the other man held on to her.

"Throw it!" Cadman ordered.

John twisted slightly, to get it away from the pier and, as soon as it left his hands, he felt himself pulled back and down to the ground, a body on top of him. He counted to ten before there was a water-muffled _boom_.

"Clear!" Cadman called.

They untangled themselves, John dusted himself off. "Good work, everyone!" he said.

Rodney came running up. "You're okay?" he demanded.

John looked up to see the worry -- and a flash of something he couldn't identify -- in Rodney's eyes.

 

15~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

"Yeah, I'm okay," John replied. "What was that?"

"If I knew, I wouldn't have given it to you!" Rodney protested, waving his hands.

John grinned wryly. "I guess not," he admitted.

"Were there any more of those?" Cadman asked.

Rodney considered, then admitted, "I don't think so?"

"Okay, we have to check your lab for any more of those lovely toys," she directed.

"Now?" Rodney whined. "It's dinner time!"

"Now!" Cadman replied firmly.

"I'll get dinner brought to the labs," John said. "Teyla will do it."

Rodney sighed. "All right, all right," he agreed.

They went back to the room where Rodney had the miscellaneous Ancient devices stored. Cadman and her team went through every box Rodney had. John made sure Rodney ate some of the meal that Teyla brought -- mostly so Rodney wouldn't revert to power bars on the first day of his diet.

There weren't any more cylinders like the one John handled earlier but there were a couple of similar devices that Cadman confiscated when they finished up four hours later.

"Hey!" Rodney protested weakly.

"Almost got hurt with something like that," John pointed out.

"Oh, all right," Rodney gave in.

"Had enough to eat?" John asked.

"I guess," Rodney said.

"Not going to go back and eat whatever you have stashed in your room?" John persisted with a smile.

Rodney blushed, something John always found charming. "No, no," Rodney replied. "I think it's just time to call it a night."

John looked around the chaos left after the search for more explosive devices. "We'll get this cleaned up tomorrow."

 

16~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

John tapped on Rodney's door before breakfast the next morning. John took the indistinguishable shout to be an "Enter!"

Rodney was sitting on the edge of his bed in t-shirt and shorts. He was sleep rumpled, and looked like he would be warm and cuddly in bed. John firmly shoved those thoughts down.

"Ready?" John asked.

"For what? What's broken? Is anyone injured?" Rodney asked, looking up in alarm. "Did I miss a call on the radio?

"You wanted to exercise," John said patiently.

"I said not early!" Rodney protested.

"It's not that early," John retorted. Well, it was just after six am... it wasn't _that_ early.

"It's early for me!" Rodney countered.

"Come on, it's not that early!" John coaxed. "And it will be a good start to the day."

Rodney flopped back on the bed, his t-shirt riding up as he did. John looked away from the soft, plae skin that showed.

"Ro-o-o-o-d-ney," John whined. "I skipped running with Ronon to go with you."

Rodney's head lifted at that. "You did?" he asked. John was surprised to hear the pleased tone in Rodney's voice. Rodney sat up and rubbed his hands across his face. "All right, give me five minutes," he said.

"Not a problem," John said.

Rodney was ready in the promised five minutes in sweatpants, a different t-shirt and sneakers.

"Lead on," he said.

John took them out to the West pier where he had thrown the bomb into the water. "No damage from the thing yesterday?" John asked.

"Doesn't seem to be, but we're keeping an eye on it," Rodney replied.

"We're going to do some brisk walking today," John said. "You're not used to running very far, so anything we do to up your heart rate and burn calories will do you good."

"Brisk walking?" Rodney asked.

"Very brisk," John warned him. "Come on."

John set off and Rodney squawked "Hey!" as John moved away from him.

"Come on!" John repeated, waving a hand in invitation.

Rodney jogged to catch up and then settled in next to John. John knew Rodney was focusing on walking fast enough to keep up with him since there was no chatter from the other man. It wasn't too long before Rodney was puffing slightly, but not too badly next to him.

They walked in silence for about 45 minutes before they got close to John's destination. He slowed slightly and said, "We'll do a short cool down before we stop."

"Good!" Rodney puffed. John didn't think Rodney was doing to badly for a first session.

By the time they were done, Rodney's breathing had evened out and was close to normal.

"So, how are you feeling?" John asked.

Rodney considered for a moment. "Not bad, actually," he admitted.

"Okay, we can clean up and then get some breakfast," John directed.

"I'll meet you there!" Rodney promised.


	4. Sections 17 - 21

17~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Breakfast was quick, since they both had to attend Davies' senior staff meeting. John hadn't had a chance to put together his usual summary for Davies, after spending the evening with Rodney going through the artifacts in his lab. But he made sure Rodney had something reasonable to take with him as a mid-morning snack as he left the mess.

John was grateful to find that Lorne had anticipated his problem and had sent John a rough summary that John only had to tweak rather than develop from scratch. John sent back a quick _Thanks!_ and forwarded his updated copy to Davies.

That gave John an unexpected half an hour to do a quick sweep of the city. He swung by the training room where Ronon was leading a session for some of the newest military recruits. While the threat of the Wraith was lessened, between the Hoffan drug and Michael's work, there still were enough Wraith that could cause trouble for the unwary. Ronon taught the newbies how to fight Wraith using everything from automatic weapons to close up knife work.

John waved at Ronon who asked, "Tomorrow?"

"Yes!" John replied.

John went on to where Cadman had set up her office and stopped for a moment.

"Anything I should know?" he asked.

"Nothing new," she replied. "Haven't found any more of those toys you found yesterday. And I"ve asked Dr. Z to look at the ones we took away from Dr. McKay yesterday."

"Good idea," John approved of the idea of getting a non-ATA carrier to do the examination. "Let me know if you find anything interesting."

"You're first on the list," she promised. "After McKay, of course!"

"Of course," he grinned.

Rodney had just sat down at the table in the small conference room. Davies had decided that smaller group meetings were more useful to him. He still had the entire senior staff about once a month, but John had come to like the smaller groups. If felt like they actually got things done.

Rodney helped himself to the ever-present coffee that Davies had on offer. John was pleased to see Rodney had passed on the pastries that were also sitting on the table.

The meeting went quickly, being just Davies, John, and Rodney. They officially met weekly, mostly to organize the official reports back to Earth. John wondered if Davies knew whatever Rodney was going back to Earth for.

 

18~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As the meeting broke up, John told Rodney, "Teyla's expecting us after lunch."

"I was going to..." Rodney started, then stopped. "Okay, sure."

"You wanted to do this..." John said patiently.

"Yes, yes," Rodney agreed. "I just forget how much _time_ it all takes."

"An hour a day isn't that much," John pointed out.

"It's just... the middle of the day," Rodney said patiently. "But, yes, for Teyla, I'll be there."

"We can talk to her about another time of day when we meet her," John offered. "I just fit us into her schedule so we can get started."

"No, it's okay," Rodney sighed.

"It's only a few weeks," John replied. "Then you can go back to your usual schedule." John peered at Rodney, who still seemed reluctant. "Hey! It's only flexibility, not stick fighting or anything."

Rodney's looked lighter. "Flexibility? Sorry, I was just worried about getting hurt. I know that's stupid..."

"No, it's not stupid," John reassured him. "I know you have something you're working on, so figured you wouldn't want to be black and blue."

Rodney grinned. "I should have trusted you," he said ruefully. "Okay, I'll be there!"

"Good," John smiled. "See you at lunch."

John made a special effort to track down Lorne and thank him for the report.

"Figured you didn't have a chance to get that done last night," Lorne replied. "Cadman filled me in."

"She and her team did good yesterday," John said.

"They did," Lorne agreed. "We're going to rotate both Yi and Kloch through the city security position. We think Yi is actually the better option but we're not sure he's going to stay with Atlantis once this tour is over. Kloch needs more work but has already signed on for another tour."

"Makes sense," John agreed. "If Yi decides to stay, we can work that out then. We also need to do better security and inventory on all the stuff O'Neill sent before we left Earth."

"It's actually locked down and no one is supposed to go there on their own." Lorne frowned at him.

"Oops!" John grinned. "But we do need an official quartermaster group. We have enough people and stuff that we need to start being better organized."

"I'll talk to Teldy and Cadman and see who they think might be good for that," Lorne agreed.

19~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

They settled into a routine where John would jog with Rodney one day and they'd work out with Teyla on the opposite day. Teyla and Rodney worked out an acceptable time of day for their sessions with her, just before dinner time. That let Rodney work in the lab all day and John knew it gave Rodney a good reason to actually stop working at the end of the day.

Five days into their new schedule, John was at loose ends before their session with Teyla -- too much time to just sit in his office but not enough time to start anything new -- and decided he would swing by the labs to get Rodney. The last time he volunteered to test Ancient tech still fresh in his mind, John hadn't allowed enough time to do anything but give Rodney a chance to close down his work. He hadn't seen Rodney since breakfast and wanted to check in with him.

He was startled to see a handwritten sign hanging askew on the door to the lab.

__

WARNING!  
Hangry Scientist  
Enter at your own risk!!!!!

_Hangry?_ John was confused. He went into the labs cautiously.

It was dead silent. There were people working, but there was none of the bustle or chatter that he normally encountered.

Radek looked up as John entered and silently pointed at Rodney's office. Rodney rarely worked in his office and it had to be bad for him to retreat there.

John tapped on the door frame. "Almost ready?" he asked cheerfully.

"No!" Rodney snapped. "Go away!"

John stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.

"What's wrong?" he asked gently.

Rodney slumped in his chair and rubbed his eyes. "It's just been a bad day," he admitted. "Boardman _accidentally_ deleted the database for the power simulations we've been running for months. We have the backup but we're pretty sure we've lost like three days of the data."

"How bad is that?" John asked.

Rodney sighed. "It's not a disaster, just a pain in the ass," he admitted. "And I've had a headache all day, on top of it."

John looked closely and saw that Rodney looked tired. "Did you eat lunch?" John asked.

"No, been busy trying to fix everything," he replied.

John touched his communicator. "Teyla?" he called.

"Yes, John?" Teyla replied.

"Rodney and I are going to take a day off," he said. "We'll see you next time."

"Is everything all right?" she asked.

"It's fine," John assured her. "We just need a day off."

"Certainly," she agreed. "I will see you at dinner."

"Thanks!" John said. He turned to Rodney. "Come on, let's get out of here."

"I don't..." Rodney hesitated.

"What are you really getting done?" John persisted.

"Nothing," Rodney admitted.

"Okay, then. Close it up and let's get out of here," John said.

John realized how much Rodney had to be hurting to give in without further debate. He ushered Rodney out of the labs, grateful that someone had taken the sign down before Rodney saw it.

In the transporter, Rodney asked, "Where are we going?"

"My place," John said firmly. "You need a break where no one's going to find you."

"Thanks," Rodney said softly.

Once in his apartment, John dimmed the lights and steered Rodney to the bathroom. "Take a shower, that will help," he directed. "I'll get you some clothes." He reached into the medicine cabinet and put a bottle on the ledge above the sink. "Here's some Tylenol."

Rodney rolled his head, obviously trying to work out some kinks. "Okay," he said.

As Rodney went into the bathroom, John went down the hall to Rodney's place, grabbing boxers, a t-shirt and sweatpants. Rodney was just peeling off his uniform when John returned.

"Perfect!" Rodney said.

As Rodney showered, John carefully did not think about the wet, naked man on the other side of the wall. He dug into his food stash and set snacks out on the table.

When Rodney came out, John said, "Join me." He handed Rodney a beer.

"Not sure I should..." Rodney started to protest.

"One won't hurt," John encouraged him. "And eat something."

John had some fruit on the table, but also some...

"Snickers!" Rodney moaned. "John!"

"You're tired and hungry," John pointed out. He had finally figured out where _hangry_ came from. "It's a couple of small bars and you've been good long enough that you're entitled to a break."

Rodney smiled, one that lit up his eyes. "I knew you were holding out on me!" Rodney said, taking a bite of the candy bar. He ate it in small bites, savoring the taste.

"Everyone's entitled to a bad day," John said, taking a candy bar for himself.

Rodney ate another candy bar, a piece of fruit and drank his beer. He started to yawn.

"Okay," John directed. "Nap time."

"I won't sleep tonight if I sleep now," Rodney protested.

"And you probably didn't sleep too well last night," John countered. Rodney nodded agreement. "Just until dinner time," he promised. "I won't let you sleep too long."

Rodney hesitated.

"I won't go anywhere," John promised. "There are always reports to read and this will give me a chance to do it."

"Okay, okay," Rodney gave in. He looked around.

Interpreting the glance, John pointed, "Use the bed. It'll be quieter in there."

"You'll wake me for dinner?" Rodney asked.

"Promise," John said gravely.

When John went to wake Rodney, he had to take a deep breath and stop himself from just giving in and joining Rodney on the bed.

 

20~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rodney was sleepy but the tightness around his eyes had gone away. He ate dinner eagerly and joined the group for movie night. Because Torren was getting old enough to understand -- and be scared by -- the action on the screen, the movies tended to be more 'kid friendlly' than in earlier years. They watched more 'adult' movies when Teyla got someone to watch Torren.

They broke up at a reasonable hour and when John tapped on Rodney's door the next morning for their jog, Rodney was bright eyed and eager.

"Day off did you some good, I see," John observed.

"Yeah," Rodney agreed. "That was a good idea. Thanks."

"You're welcome," John answered.

Even within the first week, Rodney's endurance had improved. John had upped them to a gentle jog and while Rodney had to work at it, he wasn't struggling. He wasn't yet up to talking and jogging, but anything was an improvement.

Late the next afternoon they met with Teyla, who had them both pushing hard at their flexibility. Even though the session was originally for Rodney's sake, she didn't let John slack off at all, making him work even harder. They both were sore -- in a good way -- at the end of their sessions with her.

After almost four weeks of working out, Rodney was up to a reasonable jogging pace and doing well with his diet. John made sure there was the occasional 'bad' day, to keep Rodney's mood relatively cheerful -- no more 'hangry' scientist. He figured if the overall experience was positive, it would be easier for Rodney to keep it up after his... thing on Earth.

Frustratingly enough, John still had no idea why Rodney was going back to Earth. He might have whined at Ronon one morning when they were out running.

Ronon had just looked back at him and said, "You trust him?"

John's "Yes" was automatic.

"Then he'll tell you when he can," Ronon said calmly.

John sighed but gave up at that point.

John was doing -- relatively -- okay on that front when an email came from O'Neill.

_Sheppard,_

_I hear McKay's coming this way. How about you come, too, and we can save on the mileage if you travel together. And there's stuff we can get out of the way while you're here._

_-J_

John wasn't sure if he was pleased or annoyed by the idea of coming along with Rodney. He decided that O'Neill figured he'd keep Rodney away from both Carter and Jackson and they'd get his personnel review done at the same time. Although if things got sticky, John figured he'd ask O'Neill if the rumor that he, Carter and Jackson were living together was true. But he figured he'd have to be pretty desperate to bring that up in any conversation.

"O'Neill wants me back on Earth when you go," John told Rodney that evening at dinner.

Rodney's face lit up. "Really? That'll be cool."

"Will you have some free time at any point?" John asked, trying to be casual but probably failing. "I have leave time coming and we could... do something."

"Umm... we could visit Jeannie," Rodney offered. "If you want, that is."

"Jeannie's good," John replied with a shrug. "Maybe we can catch a game or something."

"Let me ask Jeannie if there'll be anyone in town when we'd be there," Rodney offered. "I'll have her get us all some tickets."

"That would be good," John agreed.

"If we go a day early, would you go shopping with me?" Rodney asked with a small grimace. "I desperately need a new suit and now that I've lost some weight, nothing fits all that well. I promise it won't be too painful."

"Sure,"John agreed. "Least I can do."

 

21~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

They were scheduled to leave for Earth in three days when Rodney came to John's door late at night.

"You busy?" Rodney asked., leaning in the doorway.

"Nah, just reading reports to get them out of the way before we go," John waved him in. "What's up?"

"I just got a message that, well, I need a security escort for this thing I need to do," Rodney said in a rush. "O'Neill's offered to find someone but, well, I thought maybe you'd do it."

"Security?" John was surprised. "Really?"

"Well, it's at Peterson, so the facility is okay," Rodney replied. "But, well, you know O'Neill."

John knew the SGC could cover Peterson Air Force Base with an impressive security blanket. "Does O'Neill have anything to go on?" John asked.

"I don't think so, but you can ask him" Rodney admitted. "But, well, you know..." He hesitated, then blushed slightly. "Besides, you're hot enough that you'd make great arm candy."

"You just want me for my body," John teased, leaning back in his chair... wanting that so much to be true, but he held that thought back. But he played along. "I'm crushed." He lay his hand on his pounding heart.

"Well, your dress blues are particularly... handsome," Rodney stumbled. John wondered what Rodney was really going to say before he stopped himself.

"If it's okay with O'Neill," John said with a smile. "I'd be happy to be your arm candy."

Rodney smiled back at him, looking especially pleased.

"I'm gonna... go..." Rodney mumbled, when he seemed to realize they were both grinning at each other like loons. "Thanks."

"No problem," John said and watched Rodney go.

John turned to his computer and left an email for O'Neill to go out in the next data burst.*

By lunchtime, he had a reply.

_Sheppard,_

_Thanks for taking McKay to his thing. Some asshat from DC was worried and I promised the President he'd have good security. More for show than anything. We'll fit in our thing as we can._

_\--J_

Knowing O'Neill wouldn't downplay a real security concern, John relaxed, glad to be going along with Rodney. Hopefully, he'd learn what he was getting into before it was too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *This is why I hate doing a WIP because I didn't lay the groundwork earlier for databursts run through the GateBridge. Messages back and forth accumulate every 3-4 hours and get forwarded in each direction. It's not quite real time but it's better than they've had in the past.
> 
>  
> 
> And the sign is here on the SGA_Saturday comm: [here](http://sga-saturday.livejournal.com/145180.html)


	5. Sections 22 - 25

22~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The Stargate opened to the Gate Bridge, rebuilt since the disaster with the Wraith. It now took an ATA positive person to dial the Gate and all travelers needed a special IDC to open the shield. They had learned to be more careful the hard way.

The 24 hour quarentine layover on the Bridge was tedious but John was glad to catch up on some sleep. He did make Rodney do some of their flexibility exercises at one point, mostly for something to do.

Since Rodney's event was at Peterson, the SGC had arranged for rooms at a nearby hotel. The Lieutenant that had driven them from the mountain to Colorado Springs explained that base housing was full. "We've extended security to the hotel, since there are other guests we are offering accommodations for."

Rodney asked, "Before we go to the hotel, can you take us to _Finlan's_? It's supposed to be on North Cascade Avenue."

"What's that?" John asked.

"Men's tailor shop. Walter recommended it," Rodney said. "I had Teyla help me with measurements and sent them the information. They've promised to be able to get a suit ready for me by tomorrow."

"They supposedly do some nice work," the Lieutenant said. "I can't afford it, but, if you can, it's the place to go."

The car pulled up to the curb in front of a modest storefront. "I'll wait here," the Lieutenant said.

"Don't know how long we'll be," Rodney warned.

"I'm at your disposal," he said. "Take your time."

"Thanks," John said.

A discrete _tinkle_ of a chime rang as they entered the shop. John stood for a moment and looked around. He remembered shops like this when he was younger. His dad had often ordered what he called _bespoke_ suits... custom fitting with special fabrics. John's last custom suit had been for his college graduation. Since then, he had his uniform for formal occasions. Surprisingly, the shop brought back some happy memories.

"Dr. Rodney McKay," Rodney announced to the man that came out to greet them.

"Bill Finlan," the man replied. He reached out a hand to shake Rodney's. "Glad to finally meet you Dr. McKay."

"John Sheppard," John introduced himself as Finlan held his hand out.

"Glad to meet you," Finlan replied. He turned to Rodney. "I have your suit almost ready, if you'd like to come in the back and try it on?"

"Sure," Rodney said as he looked at John.

"Go ahead," John said. "I'll be fine." He frowned slightly as he realized Rodney would be out of sight while they did the fitting.

Interpreting John's worry correctly, Finan said, "We have a chair for guests in the back. You can come back with us."

"That's good," John admitted.

John settled in and refused to offer of coffee from an assistant. The 'shop' was much bigger in the back and there were half a dozen people working on different projects.

Rodney shrugged on the jacket and John knew instantly that it was perfect for Rodney. It showed off his broad shoulders and the navy blue fabric would set off hie eyes.

Finlan and his assistant worked efficiently, asking Rodney to move in different ways to ensure there was enough ease to be able to move comfortably. They marked a couple of small changes then handed Rodney the pants to put on.

"There's a shirt in there, also," Finlan told Rodney as he escorted him to the changing room. "Try that on, also."

Rodney went into the changing room and shortly came out and stood in front of the curtain for a moment, looking at himself in the mirror.

John's mouth went dry. While John knew Rodney had lost some weight and firmed up with their diet and exercise routine, this was the first John _saw_ the results.

Rodney was _georgeous_! The suit did justice not only to the broad shoulders but the pants hugged Rodney's ass in a way that should be illegal. The white shirt was open at the neck, showing off just a bit of chest.

John must have made a noise because Rodney looked up at him. "Good?" he asked, with a small smirk.

John nodded, swallowed and got out, "Very good!"

"If you would," Finlan indicated, moving Rodney to a small dais.

John had to focus on keeping his breathing even as Rodney twisted and turned in that bewitching suit through the rest of the fitting. Finlan and his assistant were efficient and professional as they completed the fitting but John just wanted to make them stop touching Rodney....

John got up at one point, mumbling something about "Just stretching" to anyone that might be listening. He went out to the front of the shop to look at some of the suits on display. He'd think about coming back if he'd ever need a suit.

"Ready?" Rodney's voice came.

John turned to see Rodney dressed in the baggy jeans and polo shirt he had on earlier. "They'll deliver the suit in the morning," he said. "You still up for some shopping? I could use a few more things."

Swallowing at the thought of Rodney trying on jeans that fit and maybe a tighter t-shirt, John nodded.

He was so doomed.

 

 

23~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Shopping with Rodney was relatively painless in the end. Rodney would decide and then buy six of whatever in different colors.

John spotted what he figured was additional security a couple of times at the mall. The same two serious looking young men just _happened_ to be in most of the same stores that he and Rodney were in. And they had no packages at the end of the day.

Dinner was at a chain steak house in the mall. The steak was good and the beer cold, and there was good ice cream for dessert.

The Lieutenant took them back to their hotel, helping with the bags they had accumulated.

"Anything else?" he asked.

"No, and thanks," John replied.

"I'll be here in the morning," he said. "Your event is at 9 am, I'll be here at 8:30 am."

"Good enough," John said.

"Order breakfast for the morning?" Rodney asked. "Extra coffee."

"Plenty of coffee, coming up," John smiled. He called the hotel service and made sure they understood what 'extra' coffee meant.

Rodney was puttering with his new clothes. He had worn one set and it was as bad as John had feared. He was _very_ aware of how good Rodney looked.

Rodney turned suddenly and caught John staring. He came closer to John and said softly, "John?"

"Um... just..." John stumbled. A deep breath. "Sorry?"

Rodney moved closer. "Are you... sorry?" he asked. John could feel the heat from Rodney's body, close to his.

Up close, John could see the uncertainty in Rodney's eyes. John took a chance and shifted closer.

A slow smile crossed Rodney's face. He closed the distance between them and placed a warm hand on John' hip.

"Why now?" John had to ask.

"Been watching you watch me for... forever..." Rodney admitted.

"Are you sure we should do.. this?" John had to ask. He didn't want to mess up.

Rodney paused, then said, "You're my best.. everything. My best co-worker, my best team mate, my best friend. I've never had anyone like you in my life and... I want you in the rest of my life."

John was stunned. "But... Jennifer..."

Rodney blushed. "I didn't think I could have you and... she was shiny..." He shrugged. "But it wasn't going to be something that would work for either of us long term."

"Maybe we can do that long term... together..." John breathed against Rodney's lips.

Rodney met him in the middle, the kiss starting soft and tentative. John brought a hand up to the side of Rodney's face, cradling the side of his head. They each shifted slightly and just _fit_ together.

"Bed," Rodney murmured.

"Yes," John agreed.

 

24~*~*~~~**~*~~*~*~~*~*~*

 

 

[NOTE: If I didn't want to get the story mostly done before Squee Weekend, I'd write some porn here... John worshiping Rodney's new body, lots of reverent touching on both sides and lovely orgasms... and some bashful not-talking between two inarticulate men.]

 

 

John was warm when he woke. Rodney radiated heat like a furnace, but waking up every morning entangled with Rodney was his long term plan.

He glanced at the clock and suspected they should get moving. Lieutenant Escudero would be picking them up and their breakfast order should be delivered in half an hour.

John dropped a kiss on Rodney's shoulder and eased out of bed. Rodney mumbled in his sleep and immediately moved into the warm spot John had just vacated. He went back to the other bedroom in the suite where his bag was and grabbed clean underwear before climbing into the shower.

He put on sweatpants and a t-shirt to wait for the breakfast delivery. He figured Rodney would have time for coffee before having to get his own shower.

Food -- and four carafes of coffee -- was delivered on time. John poured a cup and took it to the bedroom.

John wafted the cup near Rodney, and laughed as Rodney's eyes opened. 

"Breakfast is here," John said. "You need to get moving if you're to properly cafinate before you shower and we have to go."

"'Kay," Rodney said, taking the cup from John.

Rodney joined John for breakfast. He drank two of the carafe's of coffee along with the eggs, bacon and a single pastry -- he looked at the rest of the basket longingly but obviously resisted.

Rodney got up from the table, came around to John's side and leaned in for a small kiss.

"Morning!" he said.

"Morning!" John said.

"Wish we had time for more," Rodney said, between small kisses.

"Your thing today," John reminded him.

"Oh, yeah," Rodney gave him a small smile.

"Get your shower," John said.

There was a knock at the door. "Go," John directed. "I'll get that."

It was a courier with Rodney's suit. John signed the ticket and scrabbled through his things to give a tip to the man.

He took the garment back to the bedroom. He straightened out the blankets on the bed, to have some place to lay the suit out.

John leaned into the bathroom, "Your suit's here!"

"Good timing!" Rodney replied.

John left before he was tempted to join Rodney in the shower, going back to get his dress blue's out. John pulled on the shirt and pants, leaving the jacket for the last minute.

Rodney looked as good in the suit as John knew he would.

"That looks good on you," John said. "I want to peel it off of you later..." He grinned. "How long should this thing last today?" John asked. "Just so I know."

"I think mid-afternoon," Rodney said. "I know there's lunch but there's no plans for dinner."

"We could... have dinner in," John offered.

Rodney grinned. "Sounds like a plan," he agreed.

A knock at the door startled John. He looked through the peep hole to see Escudero in the hall. He opened the door, "Right on time."

"If you're ready, sir?" Escudero said.

"Two minutes," Rodney said, going back into the bedroom.  
John went to the other bedroom to get his suit jacket and cap. He shrugged into the jacket, letting it settle on his shoulders. The rows of medals spoke to him of people he had lost somewhere along the way. He touched the medals lightly, with a hope that they had good thoughts for him today.

"Ready," John said.

Another, armed, airman was with the SUV when they got to the entrance. John was glad to see them taking Rodney's security seriously.

"Where are we going?" John asked.

"The Air and Space Museum at Peterson," Escudero replied.

"Good to know," John replied. "Thanks."

He and Rodney settled into the back seat of the van, with Escudero and the airman in the front. John noticed another SUV falling in behind them as they traveled through the city.

It didn't take long for them to get to the base. All of their ID cards were checked before they were flagged onto the facility. They hesitated long enough for the second SUV to clear the security checkpoint.

The vehicle drew up to a side entrance.

"You need to use this entrance," Escudero said. "Hold on for a moment." He got out of the vehicle, checked the vicinity and then opened the rear door for them. "This way."

He led them through the building and stopped before a set of double doors.

"Good luck, sir," he said, giving John a salute.

Rodney put a hand on John's arm and said softly, "I know you think you're my arm candy, actually, I'm yours."

John looked at him in confusion as Rodney opened the door.

He saw a crowd of people that included the Millers -- Madison bouncing up and down in glee -- and...

His brother Dave?

"What the fuck?" John muttered.

25*~*~*~~*~~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

 

John turned to Rodney and repeated, "What the fuck?"

Rodney leaned in close to John. John felt the warmth of Rodney's hand on the small of his back.

"It's okay," he said softly. "Trust me?" Rodney's eyes were serious.

John took a deep breath and straightened. "Okay."

John let Rodney's hand guide him to the front of the room. John saw Jack O'Neill waiting for them, along with some of his old commanding officers.

"Dr. McKay," O'Neill said cheerfully. "Thank you for bringing our guest of honor."

"Sir," John said carefully.

"You'll have to forgive Rodney," O'Neill said. "We talked him into helping us with this little… project."

"Not so little, from my vantage," John replied.

O'Neill shrugged. "Figured we'd start some of our own traditions, now that we have some autonomy," he explained. "There's too much… paperwork, doing it the same old way."

"New traditions can be good," John agreed. "I could have given you some suggestions on who you could practice on."

"Someone that's not you, I suspect" O'Neill observed with a grin. The audience tittered, which reminded O'Neill that they were still there.

"Colonel Sheppard," O'Neill said. "If you would." He gestured to a place next to him.

John gamely moved to the spot O'Neill had indicated.

"My thanks to everyone for joining us today," O'Neill said. "Home World Security may be a relatively new department, but it comes with long honored Earth traditions from all branches of military service. We have some new traditions from allies among the Jaffa, and we're looking at others to make ensure that we honor those who fight together."

O'Neill looked at John.

"This is the first of hopefully many future ceremonies where we can recognize and reward those who have done extraordinary service on behalf of our alliance. There are times that the old procedures don't give us the opportunity to recognize a job well done."

John shifted uncomfortably for a moment and moved to parade rest to stop himself from fidgeting.

"Colonel John Sheppard has spent seven years in Atlantis, has lead the fight against the Wraith and has forged an alliance with allies in the Pegasus galaxy. While being a long way from winning the battle, Colonel Sheppard's taken the lead in that battle and, for the first time in a long time, we are optimistic about a good ending."

O'Neill lifted a small packet and turned to face John.

"In recognition for that hard work, I'm very pleased to be able to recognize that dedication by promoting you to the rank of General, and making your assignment to Atlantis permanent. Or at least for as long as you'd like to be there"

He moved over to John and stood in front of him. He took off the Colonel insignia, replacing them with the stars of the rank of General. O'Neill stepped back and saluted. "General Sheppard."

John saluted back.

The sudden swell of applause startled John.

"There's lunch going to be served in the next room," O'Neill announced to the group. "Please, join us."

Before John could take two steps, the group of his former commanding officers moved as a pack toward John. John's last commander, from Antarctica, came toward him with an outstretched hand. "Never thought I'd see this, Sheppard. When O'Neill called to invite me, I just had to come and see it. Good job."

John got variations of that from the rest. A couple of the congratulations were faintly begrudging, especially now that John now out-ranked them.

Then it was family. Jeannie threw her arms around him while Madison hugged him at the waist. John awkwardly hugged her back. He used one hand to pat Madison on the top of the head.

Caleb Milled reached in and shook his hand.

Then it was Dave's turn. Dave took his hand and then pulled him in for a hug.

"Good job," Dave said. "Congratulations." He held John close. "Dad would have been proud."

"Thanks," John said softly.

There were others, friends John had met along the way, some people he wasn't sure who exactly they were, but he accepted their congratulations. It was faintly overwhelming.

O'Neill came over after a while and said, "Don't want to break up the love fest, but lunch is ready."

He herded the group to the other room and John was grateful that he ended up seated next to Rodney.

"You had a _thing on Earth_ ," John said sarcastically.

Rodney had the grace to blush. "Well, I did. Of a sort," Rodney defended himself.

John leaned close and bumped his shoulder. "Thanks," he said.

"You're welcome," Rodney said. He nodded at the stars. "They look good on you."

"I didn't do all that stuff on Pegasus by myself," John said. "You had a big part of that."

"Well, of course," Rodney agreed, with a smile. "But this will help all if us."

John wanted to kiss him in that moment and started to lean in before he remembered where they were.

Unfortunately for him, O'Neill didn’t miss the movement. "Damn, I owe Sam and Daniel dinner out."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more set of postings, I'm thinking... ;-) Unless my muse comes up with something more that has to be part of this fic! 
> 
> Thanks to everyone for following along!


	6. Section 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I had posted this on my LJ but not here...
> 
> This is what exists... and it ends decently... If I write more, I'll add it as a new story.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who's read this!

John had to admit that lunch was relatively painless. The brass and everyone else left right after the meal, and all that was left was David, the Millers and Rodney.

O'Neill had left with an airy, "Take your week, Sheppard. When you get back, we'll talk."

John wasn't sure if that was good or not, but he had learned to trust O'Neill to do right by Atlantis. Even with some changes, there had to be paperwork of some sort to keep track of things.

"I have to go back tomorrow," Dave admitted.

Jeannie offered, "General O'Neill got us tickets to tonight's Rockies game, and offered us a driver. We should be able to get another ticket."

"I haven't been to a baseball game just for fun in ages," Dave added.

"Can we get cotton candy?" Madison asked, bouncing up and down.

"I guess that's your answer," Jeannie said with a grin.

"Can we change?" Rodney asked plaintively.

"Sure," John said. He looked down at his uniform. "This is a bit... flashy for a baseball game."

"We'll get the driver to take us all back to your hotel and on to the game," Jeannie got them all moving.

Escudero was waiting for them outside the venue with a van. He saluted John, "General."

John gave him a casual salute back. "Thank you," he said. "I guess we're going back to the hotel and then on to Denver."

"That's been arranged," Escudero replied. "General O'Neill had arranged for a box for the game. You should be all set. Plenty of space for anyone that wanted to come."

Dave looked at John knowingly as Madison ran around the suite and found the empty second bedroom. The cleaning staff had cleaned up their bedroom, thankfully, but all of their belongings were obviously in one room.

The game was fun. There was more food than they could eat and, by the sixth inning, Madison was bouncing off the walls. Fortunately, by the end of the game, Madison had fallen asleep.

John made an effort to spend time with Dave during the game. They sat in the seats in front of the box and John asked about Dave's family, the business and what he had been doing since they had last seen each other. John told a couple of sanitized stories from Atlantis, which he could see Dave was glad to hear. John found himself promising to come to visit Dave the next time he was on Earth.

The ride home was sleepy and quiet. John was especially glad for the driver, and the discrete escort, which Escudero finally admitted was for John and not Rodney.

The Millers and Dave had rooms on another floor in the same hotel. Jeannie hugged both John and Rodney as they parted.

"Meet for breakfast?" John offered.

"Madison will be up at the crack of dawn," Jeannie said. "But we'll take her to the pool to wear her out first."

"That sounds like a good idea," Rodney said. "Meet at 8?"

Everyone nodded and went off to their rooms.

When John and Rodney were finally alone together in their room, John put his arms around Rodney and drew him in close. He rested his forehead on Rodney's shoulder.

"Surprise," Rodney said softly.

John could only laugh. He lifted his head and leaned in for a soft kiss.

"Thank you," John said. "I think." He drew back for a moment. "Don't do that again!"

"Hey! O'Neill threatened to send Mitchell to Atlantis. With a crate of lemons," Rodney protested. Then he grinned, "And he promised us some new toys. How could I resist?"

"You didn't have to do the working out thing," John said. "Although I do have to say I like the results."

"How about if you show me some more how much you like the results?" Rodney leaned in closer. "I've never slept with a General before."

"Good thing," John growled.


End file.
